Easy Halloween Craft: Cheesecloth Ghost {Cheese Cloth Ghost}

Hi friends! I hope you’re having a great week! I was digging through our Halloween decorations and came across these cute ghost friends I made a few years back. This was the 3rd post I wrote for Free Stylin’, so I thought I’d share it with you again. (Sorry some of the pics are so small. That was before I learned lots of bloggy lessons like use large pictures!)

Enjoy!

When I was a little girl my mom went to craft night at the church and painted a ceramic ghost. Near the end of her meticulous painting (my mom is a little bit of a perfectionist – I’m not gonna lie), she was painting the last spooky black eye and bumped the paint brush. The result is what looks like a little tear coming down her ghost’s face. I don’t know if it was a lack of time, or if she thought it was a great opportunity to show her kids how to roll with the punches (I’m thinking both), but my mom said, “Well, we’ll call him Boo-Hoo.” So we took him home, and he’s been a family favorite ever since.

I’ve wanted a few new Halloween decorations around the house, but (of course) I didn’t want to spend a dime. Nada. Zilch. So I was looking through some (free) magazines to help inspire me, and I came across a few ghost ideas. I liked some parts of this one and other parts of that one. Finally I decided to put them all together. This cute little guy is the result:

Yes, yes I had to spend a dime (or two). $3.45 for the cheesecloth. But it came with 4 square feet, so I have LOTS leftover for future F.U.N!!

Here’s how I made my new little spooky friend (and his brother):

First, I hauled the kids over to Home Depot and grabbed a package of cheesecloth. (It’s on the painting supplies aisle.)

Then I spread out the cheesecloth on my (clean) kitchen floor. (Mostly clean.)

I wanted to measure and make sure things would work out evenly, but I had a problem: The measuring tape was upstairs. And I didn’t want to run up and get it. I’m so lazy.

So I used my kitchen tiles as my measuring “device.” And I cut the cheesecloth into four mostly equal squares.

Next I made the glue mixture. I collected a few supplies:

*wood glue

*a container to put it in

*medicine measuring cup (since I have a bajillion)

*a craft stick. (K, who am I kidding…it’s a skewer for kabobs. I told you I was lazy.)

(P.S. The medicine measuring cup is now officially used for crafts only. I marked the bottom with a big red permanent X.)

I mixed two parts glue to one part water. (4 oz of glue and 2 oz of water was just right.)

It’ll look like ice cream, but I promise you don’t want to eat it.

I shoved a piece of cheesecloth into the container and then wrang it out (wrung it out?). Squeezed all the glue mixture out. “Un-peeling” the cheesecloth was a little tricky at first – it was sticky and the threads were delicate – but it got easier with each ghost.

Then I draped the wet ghost over a plastic cup. Make sure you have a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper or foil on the bottom to keep the glue off your counter and so your ghost doesn’t stick to anything. Also make sure the cup is the right height to let the bottom of the ghost “puddle” a little bit. It makes him look ripple-y. (Is that a description? Is that even a word?)

I let my ghost sit for an hour or two – just until his head was dry (it dries first). Then I shoved one of the kids’ baseballs underneath to give his head a little bit more shape.

I let the ghost dry overnight but a few hours is fine, too.

Once he was dry, he needed some eyes. I thought about using construction paper and gluing it, but I spotted these bad boys while digging around for the construction paper:

P.S. I got that entire bucket at Goodwill for 50 cents!

(I don’t know what their real name is, but I call them foam doo dads. It’s a logical choice.) I love that they have an adhesive back, so I was sold. There weren’t any black circles, so I just grabbed a Sharpie and went to town. Then I stuck them on my little ghosty and he looked great! (I considered making a mouth, but it looked funny, so I didn’t mess with it.)

Here’s my ghost and his brother:

Another shot on the couch (I like how the red showed through the cheesecloth…a little spooky).

So what do you think? I personally love him. A fun, easy, fast, and CHEAP ghost.

A few thoughts when making this:

You could spray paint him black – I bet that would look cool. Also, instead of using a baseball for his head, if you have balloons at home, that would be a perfect way to give him some shape. Just pop the balloon when the glue is all dried.

Happy Crafting!

Comments

angela says:

October 17, 2012 at 3:17 pm

Are you in strike? I’ve missed your posts. However, this was a good reminder…maybe I can do this with the boys later in the week since we have no school. miss you, oxox

Heather says:

October 20, 2012 at 8:04 pm

LOOOOOOOVE this, Beth! So cute. Will have to try it.
H